Business News

Business owner scores $1 million prize

Scottsdale entrepreneur Nathan Reis went to a business conference in Florida last month thinking it would amount to little more than a vacation.

He left the winner of a $1 million grand prize that will allow him to expand his business in the Valley.

Reis, 32, is the owner and chief executive officer of Entrust Bankcard, a payment-processing company that focuses on small businesses that have credit-card-sales amounts of $10,000 to $40,000 a month. The company has a main location in Mesa, plans another in Glendale and, according to Reis, will expand its headquarters in Scottsdale with the money it was awarded.

On Oct. 8, Reis won a contest held by United Bank Card, one of the largest payment-processing companies in the nation. The award was made at the company's annual sales conference in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Entries for the contest were based on UBC sales partners, such as Entrust, that brought in a new merchant during the given time period. For every deal that the sales partner brought into UBC, they were awarded another entry and a better chance at winning the contest.

With a cap of 27,000 entries, 1,500 competitors and a 0.003 percent chance at the prize, Reis never imagined that his mere 80 deals would result in him winning the $1 million dollars. Reis said he only attended the conference because he needed a vacation.

"I was sitting there in shock, and everyone was saying, 'Let's go out for drinks, you're buying,' " Reis said. After winning the money, Reis met with his chief financial officer to decide what they would do with the money.

"Collectively we looked at what the company needed to grow, so we decided to use most of the funds for opening another office that is double the size," Reis said.

Entrust currently owns 12,000 square feet in Mesa and recently put an offer on 10,000 square feet in Glendale, which will be used for their sales-training facility, Entrust University. Reis also wants to add 5,000 square feet for corporate space in Scottsdale within the next eight months.

"The company needs this space and taking on the expense before we were ready was scary," Reis said about his expansion. "The money has enabled us to breathe and know that we can do this now, and now is when we need to do it."

Since 2008, Entrust has gone from serving 800 customers to almost 4,000.

Entrust intends to add a minimum of 150 new jobs by September next year, Reis said.

Along with the new offices and jobs, Reis also announced he would be giving $200,000 of the winnings to his charity, Engage Foundation

In particular, Reis likes directing his donations towards single mothers and young children. Reis was raised by a single mother in Wisconsin.

"Jared Isaacman, CEO of United Bank Card, calls Reis' use of the prize money "smart and admirable."

"He is expanding in the state that has already made his company very successful and giving back to the community that he does business within," Isaacman said. "He is clearly showing that his company is growth-minded while still being a good corporate citizen."